Posts Tagged Mortgages
Portland Oregon Metro Area real estate market conditions for March 2010
Posted by Danny in Monthly newsletter on March 18th, 2010
My mother-in-law returned home during severe weather last Saturday in the Northeast. We are grateful that she made it home safe after a long and difficult return flight and drive from the airport. We had a great visit. Having a usable guest room made a world of difference towards livability for all of us during a long stay. I had the pleasure of showing her several condominiums in Hillsboro and Northwest Portland on the last couple of days of her stay. Her granddaughter Mackenzie has put up a strong argument for her to convince grandpa to relocate from out of state to this area. Our weather only improves our cause.
Our new cat Cougar and resident cat Gracie Joy have become good friends, though Cougar still thinks of the guest room/office as his room while Gracie spends most of her time downstairs. We are alternating between using the front door and garage to prevent Cougar from exploring his new neighborhood too soon.
This past month, I earned the Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource designation from the National Association of Realtors. There is no such thing as a distressed property; it’s the owners that are distressed. If you know someone that is facing foreclosure, there may be options available and I would appreciate your referral to assist them. If you are looking for an even better deal in this buyer’s market, short sales provide an opportunity to help someone in financial trouble. If the time table for a short sale does not suit you, banks are eager to remove foreclosed properties from their balance sheets. These types of transactions are significantly different from more traditional home transactions; but I am aware of these differences and knowledgeable on the best methods to successfully navigate purchasing short sales or foreclosed properties.
Portland-Metro real estate market activity remained improved last month over the same period a year ago. Closed sales were up 18.4% versus February 2009 and pending sales increased by 45%! In addition, new listings increased by 12.4%. The tax credit appears to have successfully jump-started spring real estate activity.
Comparing last month to January 2010, pending sales were up 20.5% and closed sells improved slightly to 2.9%. New listings dropped a mere 1% after an increase of 87.1% between January 2010 and December 2009. Active inventory, which is calculated by dividing the total number of active listings for a month and dividing it by the number of closed sales, increased by 0.3 months and is now at 12.9 months with 13,101 active listings.
All sales price indicators continued the same trends. Sale prices were down compared to February 2009 by 8.5%, and the median sale price also decreased by 9.3%. February 2010 sale prices were also down when viewed against January 2010 with average prices dropping by 3.3% while the median price decreased by 2.1%. The tax credit may have increased real estate transactions, but the high number of properties available continues to push prices down.
If you are in the market to purchase a home, now is still the perfect time to buy. There are plenty of properties available, sale prices have still continued to drop, and interest rates are still low. Additionally, if eligible, the extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit is still available if in a purchase contract by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010.
Would you like to receive more detailed information about?
- Realtor services?
- The extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit?
- Short Sales or Foreclosures?
- Your neighborhood or others that you are interested about?
Please contact me at:
dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com
503-267-8370
I am a realtor of Oregon First, licensed in the state of Oregon.
All statistics listed are quoted from the February 2010 issue of RMLS Market Action. The Regional Multiple Listing Service releases the previous month’s statistics near the 15th of the current month.
Tax credit information provided by the IRS at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=215791,00.html?portlet=7
Additional tax credit information provided by the National Association of Realtors FAQ on Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes, available on request.
This Beaverton real estate agent is now a certified Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource.
Posted by Danny in Short Sales and Foreclosure on March 8th, 2010
I have just earned the National Association of Realtors certification as a Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource. This specialized training has prepared me to provide better service to my clients when seeking to purchase short sales or bank-owned properties. It has also improved my skills to help clients look to other avenues that may help them keep their home. If that is not an option, I am can provide assistance to determine if a short sale is a viable alternative to foreclosure.
Financial institutions are not in the business of holding and maintaining real estate properties. They would prefer to have these properties sold. Foreclosure auctions rarely offer the best prices for buyers and seldom provide any access to inspect the properties before the auction. Once a property fails to sell at auction, it is then called bank-owned or REO. Beaverton, Portland, and otherwise throughout Oregon, real estate markets now contain many bank-owned properties. They typically listed at better market prices than comparable properties, but purchasing from banks has certain disadvantages.
Purchasing a short sale property provides the opportunity to buy a home at competitive current market prices while helping an owner that is facing the threat of losing the home to foreclosure. The seller may be more responsive to buyer concessions than the holder of a REO. Despite a common short sale myth, the bank with the lien on the property is not a party to a purchase transaction. Approval of the original lender is just another contingency for the sell to be completed.
As a real estate agent listing a short sale property, I insure that all possible steps have already been taken for the lien holder and any other lenders with an interest in the property to approve a reasonable offer after the buyer and seller sign a purchase agreement.
If you have any questions or interests in short sales or foreclosed properties or know a home owner that I may assist, please contact me at 503-267-8370 or at dannyshepard@oregon.
Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) goes into effect on April 5, 2010
Posted by Danny in Short Sales and Foreclosure on February 19th, 2010
If you have questions concerning this program or know a distressed home owner in need of viable options, please contact me at:
dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com
503-267-8370
Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA)
On November 30, 2009, the Treasury Department released guidelines and forms for its new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). HAFA is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAFA provides incentives in connection with a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) used to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program. Servicers participating in HAMP are also required to comply with HAFA. A list of servicers participating in HAMP is available at MakingHomeAffordable.gov.
HAFA applies to loans not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which will issue their own versions of HAFA in coming weeks.
HAFA is a complex program, with 43 pages of guidelines and forms, designed to simplify and streamline use of short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. HAFA:
- Complements HAMP by providing a viable alternative for borrowers (the current homeowners) who are HAMP eligible but nevertheless unable to keep their home.
- Uses borrower financial and hardship information already collected in connection with consideration of a loan modification.
- Allows borrowers to receive pre-approved short sales terms before listing the property (including the minimum acceptable net proceeds).
- Prohibits the servicers from requiring a reduction in the real estate commission agreed upon in the listing agreement (up to 6 percent).
- Requires borrowers to be fully released from future liability for the first mortgage debt (no cash contribution, promissory note, or deficiency judgment is allowed).
- Uses standard processes, documents, and timeframes/deadlines.
- Provides financial incentives: $1,500 for borrower relocation assistance; $1,000 for servicers to cover administrative and processing costs; and up to $1,000 for investors for allowing a total of up to $3,000 in short sale proceeds to be distributed to subordinate lien holders (on a one-for-three matching basis).
- Requires all servicers participating in HAMP to implement HAFA in accordance with their own written policy, consistent with investor guidelines. The policy may include factors such as the severity of the potential loss, local markets, timing of pending foreclosure actions, and borrower motivation and cooperation.
The program does not take effect until April 5, 2010, but servicers may implement it before then if they meet certain requirements. The program sunsets on December 31, 2012.
Source: http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/short_sales_hafa
Oregon Veteran programs information has been added to this site.
I have posted several veteran programs links to this site, including both home loan programs from the national Veterans Administration and the Oregon VA. I recently took advantage of the IRRRL program, shaving one percent off our own mortgage with no closing costs thanks to the help of Kelly Parkman at the Northwest Mortgage Group. There are also links for veterans from the department of Housing Urban Development, US Department of Agriculture, and the Small Business Administration. Counseling information for veterans possibly facing foreclosure has also been listed. Finally, there is information for veterans and their spouses to determine their eligibility to use a VA home loan or to determine if their home purchases, renovations, or improvements are eligible under the VA home loan program.
If you have any questions or need assistance in utilizing these programs, please contact me at:
dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com
503-267-8370
Portland-Metro real estate market conditions for December 2009
Posted by Danny in Monthly newsletter on December 15th, 2009
On November 6th, President Obama signed into law an extension and expansion of the popular home buyer tax credit program. It extended the credit to buyers that enter contract on or before April 30, 2010 and close by July 1, 2010. A first time home buyer is considered anyone that has not owned a home in the last three years and is eligible for a credit equal to 10% of the purchase price, up to $8,000 for a couple. The credit has also been expanded to those that own or recently owned homes, as long as it has been a primary residence for five of the past eight years. The credit for home owners is still 10% with a limit of $6,500 per couple on the purchase of a new home. Credit limits are half for individual home buyers or for couples that file separately. There are many more details, please contact me if you would like more information or you may check the cited sources below.
In October, market data was skewed due to first time home buyers entering the market to take advantage of the at-time first time home buyers tax credit that required purchases to be closed by November 30th, 2009. Pending sales increased for the month more than they had since February 2006. Total closed sales for October 2009 were higher since August 2007 with the highest same month percent increase since January 2005.
Now let’s take a look at real estate market conditions for the Portland-Metro area for the past month. November closed sales were up 72.4% over the same month as last year and pending sales rose by 19.9% as many home sellers buying new homes became eligible for the expanded tax credit.
Still, listings dropped by 7% as some home owners decided they would rather wait to sell their homes at higher prices in a stronger market than accept a lower purchase price with a tax credit. The average sale price for November 2009 was down by 11.4% as compared to last year. Median sale prices were down by 9.8%. In comparison with October 2009, average sale prices were down 3.6% and the median price had dropped by 2.5%. Active inventory, which is calculated by dividing the total number of active listings for a month and dividing it by the number of closed sales, was up to 7.1 months. In October, active inventory was at its lowest since August 2007 at 6.5 months.
Our federal government has provided incentives to buy or sell homes. A seller can now take advantage of the credit to purchase a more expensive property at a lower market value or even to reduce costs and purchase a less expensive property. Buyers have an additional five months to receive an $8,000 credit when they purchase a new home with a market continuing to experience lower real estate prices and interest rates.
Would you like to receive more detailed information about?
• Your neighborhood or neighborhood of interest?
• The extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit?
• Realtor services?
Please contact me at:
dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com
www.dannyleeshepard.com
503-267-8370
All statistics listed are quoted from the November 2009 issue of RMLS Market Action. The Regional Multiple Listing Service releases the previous month’s statistics no earlier than the 15th of the current month.
Tax credit information provided by the IRS at:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=215791,00.html?portlet=7
Additional tax credit information provided by the National Association of Realtors FAQ on Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes, available on request.
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